March 23, 2011

On Etsy, I am part of the Metal Clay Heads, a neat bunch of folks who also make jewelry from metal clay. Every other month they have a challenge for group members, and this time I finally got something done to enter. The theme was the four elements (water, fire, wind, earth), and we were required to use clay from a syringe on the design. I chose wind, on a stormy day. For my entry, I designed a cloud shape from a separate piece of clay and added it to the base, and I used the syringe to create the wind. I gave the surface a rustic texture, and the oxidation creates the dark gray of a stormy sky. I accented it with clear, gray, and muted blue Swarovski crystals. Challenges like this stretch and push you as an artist, trying new things, or encourage you to think about subject matter in a different way. It was fun, and I also learned that the syringe is harder to control than I thought! I've used it for creating simple bezel settings cubic zirconia (by building up layers of coils, pushing the CZ down in the center, and smoothing it out), but this is a whole different ball game.

You can check out the other entries on the Metal Clay Heads blog, and vote on your favorite! (public voting is in the panel on right of the blog post)

3 comments:

Hi Jennifer - I saw your post in an Etsy forum and thought you sounded like a kindred spirit! I have just taken a quick look at your blog, but it looks good. I will have to take a closer look at your shop, too - your items intrigue me! I make jewelry, too, but very different from yours.

Hey,I found your blog through a blogging-related thread on etsy success, and I just had to leave you a comment to tell you how beautiful your work is! I would love to follow you - I just couldn't find the "follow" button. Am I missing it?- Paula

Paula, thank you for your kind words! Since it looks like you have a blogspot/Google account, scroll back to the top of my blog and in the light gray bar across, you should see the "follow" option. If not, let me know! :-) - Jennifer